Box review

This package attempts to cross the divide between online storage and collaboration

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Our Verdict

Sadly this is not one of those brilliant ideas and will most likely end up costing you a lot more than you expected

For

Collaboration tools

Nice idea

Against

Slow web interface

Awkward to navigate

Not much storage

Collaboration not too good

While the free version of Box offers just 5GB of space with an individual file limit of 25MB, this can be expanded to 15GB by upgrading to the Professional or Business package.

This amount of space is pretty paltry when compared to some of the other backup services out there. To make matters worse, the web-based interface is somewhat slow and awkward to navigate, and the lack of client software is a major drawback.

Box is not even saved by its online editing and collaboration features. The service is aimed squarely at businesses – as demonstrated by the inclusion of shared work boards and discussion groups – but the system proves too cumbersome and limited to offer much lifespan.

The pricing structure means that any company which could benefit from Box's full feature-set will have a big bill on their hands, particularly if a large number of users are involved.

Box's model attempts to bridge the gap between online collaboration and online storage – but it excels at neither.